Patriotism

So I've been gone a bit, sorry. Got busy. You know how it goes. I've started this entry probably four times now, we'll see if this one takes.

Over the 4th of July I had a wonderful time visiting my folks and then seeing my grandparents. Not wonderful: answering questions about a job I used to have :)

Anyway. My Granddaddy started writing his memoirs a couple of years ago, really it's his war experience he wrote about, nothing else. So over the weekend, my mom and I were typing the story up into a Word document and I'm editing it for self-publishing on Blurb.com

If you ever want to contemplate war, and country, spend part of your 4th of July typing the combat memories of a loved one. Granddaddy was a Medic Corpsmen attached to the Marines and was in the Battle of Okinawa. That's WWII, Pacific Theater, a 100 day long battle of hand-to-hand combat and part of what convinced Truman to drop the atomic bomb.

We typed about 40 pages of absolutely amazing, heart-breaking stories. Granddaddy's friends dying around him (literally half of the 255 men he started out with did not survive the battle), the things that happened that were funny and random, the friends he could save, compassion for the island they destroyed and its inhabitants, and the overwhelming, grinding life-and-death struggle that was going on at all times.

There are three things that he wrote that stay with me always:

When he got out of combat, he found out his nickname was Smiley. In some of the most extreme circumstances imaginable, he was known for his good attitude.

Something he obviously looks forward to is seeing his old combat buddies in heaven. "I expect to see them and hear a greeting of “Hey Doc, all have been waiting for you.” " That just makes me cry.

"I would not take a million dollars for the memories or ten cents to have to repeat them.....These events prepared you to face civilian life eagerly. Nothing could be as difficult as war."

Love you Granddaddy. Thanks for what you did, no one will ever be able to thank you enough.